Lloyd Kahn is the editor-in-chiefof Shelter Publications, an independent California publisher.Shelter Publications specializes in books on buildingand architecture,as well as health and fitness.Lloyds latest book is Tiny Homes on the Move: Wheels and Water.For more info, see: www.shelterpub.comLloyd Kahn is the editor-in-chief of Shelter Publications, an independent California publisher. Shelter Publications specializes in books on building and architecture, as well as health and fitness. Lloyd’s latest book is Builders of the Pacific Coast. For more info, see: www.shelterpub.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lloydkahn

"Danny MacAskill hits the streets of San Francisco and while the title may suggest some sort of adversarial relationship, Danny glides through the hilly terrain with a familiarity and effortless grace that would lead you to believe he’s lived there all his life. Launching off sidewalks and balancing along rails, he moves with uncanny precision. Danny also talks a little bit about his methodology when it comes to identifying and perfecting new tricks. So sit back and let the maestro of urban trials do his thing."Check out all the cool things at this website (where this originated): http://www.aetherapparel.com/blog/Sent us by Gary Gunder

"LYON, FRANCE (AP)
French cyclist Robert Marchand has ridden 100 kilometers (62 miles) in 4 hours, 17 minutes and 27 seconds.
Doesn't sound fast? Consider this: Marchand is 100 years old.
Setting off on his Trek racing bike around noon at a track in Lyon, Marchand covered the distance at an average pace of 23.3 kph (14.5 mph) - not far off the 24.251 kph pace he kept up to set the world hour record for his age group in Switzerland last February.…" http://shltr.net/100yr100k

"This city of sprawling Victorian homes and expansive harbor views has erupted into a fight over itty-bitty apartments.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors had been scheduled to vote on proposed legislation to change the building code to lower the minimum size for apartments, allowing developers to build so-called micro-units as small as 220 square feet But amid a fierce debate over housing set off by the micro-apartment proposal, lawmakers chose to postpone the vote until November.
'We have a housing affordability crisis here; rents are through the roof,” said Scott Wiener, the city supervisor who introduced the legislation and who says tiny apartments will help provide affordable housing to single people, students and the elderly. While the city’s affordable housing advocates agree that there is a crisis, many feel the micro-apartments will only exacerbate the problem by catering to the young, high-tech set, further driving up rental prices.…
…The average rent for a studio apartment in the city is $2,126, an increase of 22 percent since 2008, according to RealFacts, a company that tracks apartment rental data in cities across the country.…"New York Times article 9/26/12 by Malia Wollan: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/us/micro-unit-apartment-proposal-divides-san-francisco.html

Just unearthed this exquisite little cup with dragon motif, and this is my first cup of espresso in it. The cup would give Lovejoy a flutter. Got my crema working after all these years. Malabar Gold green beans (from: http://coffeeproject.com/), roasted weekly or so.

It may have occurred to readers of my post on backpacking that I was on federal parkland, and I didn't say anything about getting camping permits. Here's my attitude and policy about the National Park Service, its regulations, its stewardship, and its rangers:
I have never got a permit for camping in the national park and I have never camped in one of the designated park camping sites, which are scorched-earth and military looking. I and my natural-world-loving friends camp in places that are not visible to hikers or rangers, and we are immaculate about camp sites, leaving everything as originally found.
A couple of years ago, scoping out the territory for this hike, I was talking to a ranger in the North Beach parking lot; he was in his SUV, I was in my Tacoma, and we were parked driver side-to-driver side, windows rolled down. He was the best type ranger—one who has the job because of a love of plants and animals and seashore and mountains. We were on the same page, so I told him about my forthcoming trip circumambulating the park, and then I said, “And I'm not getting any stinking permits.” He looked at me for a minute, then put his hand over the park service badge on his sleeve, and said, “You didn't hear this from me, but you'll be fine as long as you stay far from where a ranger can drive a vehicle."

"Downsizing from a 1,500-square-foot house to a tiny 168-square-foot dwelling in Floyd, Virginia, Hari Berzins says she loves the freedom when it comes to tiny living. 'We live larger on our 3-acre hillside," she said. "We have more time to enjoy each other, tend to our large garden and cultivate a supportive community.…'"
Clickhere.Thanks to rj and David Ouimet

"Hey folks from Shelter publications,
My name is marco, i live in the middle of the biggest woods from germany and i write you out of different motivations.
First of all i wanted to thank you for inspiration and motivation , it really made it easier, to see so many people allready living what i dreamed for myself.
Secondly- I just read your new book "tiny homes" and saw that you looking for more houses two make a second book. Heres my story hope you´ll like it.
Four years ago i felt like there should be something constant in my life, after two years of living out of my backpack- during exploring europe by foot, bike, bus, canoe and sailing boat. My grandma owns a nice piece of land, two miles away from the next village, and its a nice place to be. There are drinking water sources, two little lakes and a little stream running threw, where we used to build hoovers and canoes when we were children....
I made some drawings, organized wood and started right away with no experience- just learning by doing it. I could get nice insulated, wooden windows for free, i found an old woodstove and i made the shingles for my roof from a tree of my place. The only things i had to buy were the Hemp insulation, screws etc, some special wood, an oven flue... I payed less than 1500 Euros. All in all it took me about six months to build that thing and it made me happier than anything before.

My backpack trip was actually a lot juicier than it sounds from what I've written.
O lord, what to do with all this "content?"
Getting across the water was a big deal for me. Been plotting (and blabbing to all who would listen) for years, I'm gonna stash a surfboard and paddle my pack across…blah blah…
My friend Billy had given me one of those (9') blue soft surfboards in a dumpster, so the morning before I left, I drove to the beach and, using my little 2-wheeled surf trailer, towed it 2-1/2 miles along the sand to the end of the spit, where I hid it in the sword grass.
In one of my oh so many cases of the reality being different from the vision, it was hairy out there that afternoon. Then wind was 30-35 mph, would be head-on in crossing the channel. There was a 6' high tide, so the channel was maxxed out in width. The wind as whipping trails of sand on the dunes. The ocean was looking harsh. By 6PM, the wind hadn't lessened. I made a mature decision. I'd be low in the water, wind slowing my progress AND getting pack wet. Plus if I did make it across, I'd be freezing, didn't have a towel, nightfall coming. Houston, we have a problem.

For about 5 years I've been obsessed with the idea of walking around the entire Pt. Reyes Peninsula. It's really an island, in that the San Andreas Fault runs along its eastern side, from Tomales bay down to the Bolinas Lagoon. In 13 million years, geologists say, it will separate along the fault (since this piece of land is moving slowly north).
I live at the southern end (bottom right here) and the idea was to go on foot from my home and circle the island. I figured it would take a week, with a backpack. My alternate goal was to get to the Pt. Reyes lighthouse, which is the leftmost piece of land shown on this map.
Before leaving I took a surfboard and stashed it at the end of Limantour beach, the rightmost thin yellow strip on the map, so I could get across the mouth of Drake's Estero, the inland body of water shown (surrounded by red) here.
Long story short, I didn't make the circumambulation, but in 4 days I did get to the lighthouse, ready to drop from exhaustion (or more likely dehydration), but thrilled to have made it that far.
I'm going to try something different here: I'll write up the trip and put the photos in a Picasa album, which you can watch as a slide show. To see pics now, click here. For the rest of the writeup, click on
"Read More" below.

This came on the '50s Sirius radio station just now and I was sure it was Fats Domino. it's Joe Barry in 1961 doing a cover of the Les Paul and Mary Ford song from 1954. And sure enough, Fats recorded it in 1964.Wikipedia describes Joe Barry: "Joe Barry (Joseph Barrios…Cut Off, Louisiana…1939-2004) was an American swamp pop singer active on the early rock and roll scene. Barry started recording locally in 1958, and…in 1961…released…"I'm a Fool to Care"…It hit #15 on the U.S. Black Singles chart and #24 on the Billboard Hot 100…and sold over one million records by 1968, earning a belated gold disc.…"
I love the way Joe pronounces "care." What a fine bit of singing!
Click below for the 3 songs:
-Joe Barry, 1961
-Fats Domino, 1964-Les Paul and Mary Ford, 1954